Battle sled



p 7, 3943- J. w. OQDANIEL 2,448,545

BATTLE SLED Filed Nov. 28, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l Q INVENTIOR. JOI/A/ W O'DAN/EL c. MYJLZMM ATTORNEYS J. W; ODANIEL Sept. 7, 1948.

BATTLE SLED 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 28, 1944 iq ga w IN V EN TOR.

A T-TORNEYS J. W. ODANIEL Sept. 7, 1948.

BATTLE SLED 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 28, 1944 INVENTOR JOHN WO'DAN/EL BY cgmwz 3 lllllll llMHHI MMHHI I IQWHHHHQfiHHHHHH W A 2 f a w It PM R Q ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 7, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 4 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a battle sled for transporting infantry soldiers.

Infantry soldiers now closely follow tanks into battle to get any protection they can therefrom. They are in an upright position; they are easily visible and make a perfect'target. Only a few men immediately behind the tank get any real protection. The tank must move very slowly be cause of the following foot soldiers. It has been found that the foot soldiers, after following a tank for any period of time, especially where there is mud, are so fatigued by the time that they arrive at the point of battle, that they very readily become casualties.

It is, accordingly, an object of my invention to provide a battle sled for a foot soldier adapted to follow a tank or combat vehicle.

Another object of my invention is to provide a battle sled for an infantry soldier wherein he may ride in a prone position, well camouflaged, and with some protective armor.

Another object of my invention is to provide a battle sled which is simple in construction, economical in cost, and efiicient in operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide a series of battle sleds for foot soldiers wherein they may be pulled in spaced parallel relationship as well as in series.

Another object of my invention is to provide novel attaching means for battle sleds to be towed behind tanks or combat vehicles.

Other objects of my invention will become evident from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel battle sled attached in spaced parallel relationship and in series;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View showing the pintle hook used in towing my novel battle sled;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the pintle hook shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of a leading battle sled when arranged as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the sled shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an end view of the sled shown in Figures 4 and 5;

Figure '7 is a side elevational view of the spacing bracket for attaching my novel battle sleds together in spaced parallel relationship;

Figure 8 is a side elevational view of a spacing bracket for the leading sleds shown in Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a plan view of one of the follower battle sleds;

Figure 10 is a side elevational view of a follower battle sled.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 4, 5 and 6 show a leading battle sled comprising a semicircular shaped body member I, end members 2 and 3, extending side members 4 and an angularly extending protective member 5. A runner member 6 extends longitudinally along the underside of the body member I and projects outwardly from the front and rear end members 2 and 3. An aperture 7 is formed in the front projecting portion 8 of the runner member 5 and a stud member 9 is projected from the rearwardly extending portion iii of the runner 6. Stud members l l engage the apertures l2 in the connecting bracket I3 shown in Figure 8. A socket member I4 is disposed in the after part of my novel battle sled to receive the engaging portion E5 of the spacin bracket I6 shown in Figure '7. The leading battle sleds, as shown in Figure l, are attached to a tank or other combat vehicle bythe use of a towing attachment 2G, a pintle hook 2! on a frame 22 having eyes 23 for attachment to the leading battle sleds by means of pins 24 extending through the eyes 23 and the aperture '1 in the extending portion 8 of the runner 6.

My novel sled is designed to carry a foot soldier in a prone position. This sled can be easily camouflaged and because it moves close to the ground, it is very difiicult to detect. Protection against shrapnel and small arms fire is given the infantry soldier. Any number of these sleds can be towed behind a tank.

A follower sled is shown in Figures 9 and 10. This sled is very similar to the leading sled shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. This sled has a semi-circular body 30, end members 3| and 32, extending side members 33, and an upwardly and rearwardly extending protective member 34. A runner member 35 extends longitudinally along the bottom of the body member 33, the front end thereof having an aperture 36 and the rearwardly extending portion having an upwardly extending stud member 31. The aperture 36 engages the stud member on the sled immediately ahead; such as, the studs 9 and 3'1 herein described. A socket member 38 disposed on the rear of the follower sleds engages the connecting portion l5 of the spacing bracket l5 shown in Figure 8.

It will be evident from the foregoing that I have provided a battle sled for foot soldiers which gives them protection in following a tank or combat vehicle into battle, which is easily camouflaged and which provides a comparatively comfortable means of conveyance to the battle front.

Various changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a vehicle, a series of sleds, each of said sleds being substantially of the same size and shape and being adapted to carry a single person in prone position, means to secure the following sleds to the leading sleds, said means including a pin on the rear of the runner of the leading sled and an aperture in the runner on the following sled, said securing means being substantially in the plane of the runner, and means for towingly attaching said series to said vehicle.

2. In combination with a vehicle, spaced parallel series of sleds, each of said sleds being substantially of the same size and shape and being adapted to carry a single person in prone position, means to secure the following sleds to the leading sleds, said means including a pin on the rear of the runner of the leading sled and an aperture in the runner on the following sled, said securing means being substantially in the plane of the runner, bracket means extending between said series of sleds for maintaining the latter in spaced parallel relationship, and means for towingly attaching said spaced parallel series of sleds to said vehicle.

3. In combination with a vehicle, two series of sleds in spaced parallel relationship, each of said sleds being substantially of the same size and shape and bein adapted to carry a single person in prone position, means to secure the following sleds to the leading sleds, said means including a pin on the rear of the runner of the leading sled and an aperture in the runner on the following sled, said securing .means being substantially in the plane of the runner, a towing attachment towingly attaching said two series of sleds to said vehicle, and spacing means for maintaining said two series of sleds in spaced parallel relationship, said spacing means comprising a spacing bracket extending between said tWo series of sleds, said spacing bracket being connected at one end thereof to the rear of a sled of one of said two series and at the other end thereof to the rear of a corresponding sled of the other of said two series.

4. In a towable arrangement of sleds for towing by means of a vehicle, a plurality of mutually 5 attachable sleds of the type described, each of said sleds being substantially of the same size and shape, means for mutually attaching said sleds in series relationship to provide leading sleds and following sleds, said means being substantially in the plane of the runners of said sleds and. including a pin on the rear of the runner of a leading sled and an aperture in the runner of a following sled, spacing means for attaching said series in spaced parallel relationship, said spacing means comprising spacing brackets adapted to extend between two of said. series of sleds, each of said spacing brackets being connectable at one end thereof to a member at the rear of a sled of one of said two series and at the other end thereof to a member at the rear of a correspondingly positioned sled of the other of said two series, and means for towably connecting said series in said attached spaced parallel relationship to a vehicle.

JOHN W. ODANIEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,103,619 OShaughnessy July 14, 1914 1,103,622 OShaughnessy July 14, 1914 1,203,962 Bellamore Nov. 7, 1916 1,206,154 Spence Nov. 28, 1916 1,239,476 Goddard Sept. 11, 1917 1,435,880 Shipp NOV. 14, 1922 1,544,965 Bavousett July 7, 1925 1,566,610 Leblanc Dec. 22, 1925 2,218,264 Luce Oct. '15, 1940 2,308,109 Rundquist Jan. 12, 1943 2,318,147 Ericson May 4, 1943 2,349,535 Baldine May 23, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,517 Austria May 10, 1902 10,312 Great Britain 1908 42,065 Norway Oct. 26, 1925 0 62,515 Sweden July 9, 1924 594,726 Germany Mar. 21, 1934 681,823 France Feb. 4, 1930 

